Stanford getting no respect from BCS

You can't get robbed if there's no money in the safe, but the burglars are circling Stanford's football program. They're wearing BCS sweatshirts and singing fight songs from the Southeastern Conference.

Let's first acknowledge that there are more serious issues in college football, and that the Penn State scandal carries implications of the utmost severity. That doesn't curtail Stanford's drive for a national championship, and a brand of prejudice that falls somewhere between arrogance and stupidity.

If you watched the LSU-Alabama game between the nation's top-ranked teams, you were witness to high drama and defensive play of the highest order. You also noticed that LSU's 9-6 win took place in the absence of elite quarterbacking or sustained offense of any kind. Featuring no touchdowns, four missed field-goal tries, 13 penalties and four interceptions, that game was a disappointment, pure and simple - the "lame of the century," as Los Angeles Times writer Chris Dufresne described it.

Dufresne has the benefit of perspective, as does anyone who has taken the time to appreciate Stanford, Oregon and USC throughout the Pac-12 season. Less enlightened are the national writers, frightening in number, calling for a rematch of LSU-Alabama in the BCS title game (the two teams wouldn't be able to face each other in the SEC title game).

Seriously, people want to sit through that half-baked spectacle again - with the national title at stake? Listen, they very well might be the two best teams, on defense alone. Nobody disputes the notion that SEC football is a cut above the rest. But aren't the most important bowl games supposed to be intersectional affairs, matching programs rich in contrast? And how does Alabama deserve another shot after losing this showdown at home?

A number of polls reveal the truth, particularly the USA Today coaches' poll, which has Stanford at No. 2 behind LSU, followed by Oklahoma State (9-0). The Associated Press poll has Oklahoma State and Stanford in the 2-3 spots, which is fine. The BCS, typically perched above the level ground of reason, ranks Alabama third, ahead of Stanford.

CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 5: Quarterback Andrew Luck #12 and tight end Coby Fleener #82 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrate a touchdown in the third quarter on November 5, 2011 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Stanford won the game 38-13. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images) less

CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 5: Quarterback Andrew Luck #12 and tight end Coby Fleener #82 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrate a touchdown in the third quarter on November 5, 2011 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, ... more

Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer, Getty Images

Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer, Getty Images

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CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 5: Quarterback Andrew Luck #12 and tight end Coby Fleener #82 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrate a touchdown in the third quarter on November 5, 2011 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Stanford won the game 38-13. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images) less

CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 5: Quarterback Andrew Luck #12 and tight end Coby Fleener #82 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrate a touchdown in the third quarter on November 5, 2011 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, ... more

Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer, Getty Images

Stanford getting no respect from BCS

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In other words, go ahead, West Coast teams, run up an impressive record in a conference rich in talent. We'll continue to be bribed - sorry, influenced - by the SEC people.

Stanford head coach David Shaw isn't venturing anywhere near this conversation, and wisely so. The Cardinal's case means nothing without a victory against Oregon at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, and as Shaw told The Chronicle's Tom FitzGerald on Tuesday, "The BCS ranking has absolutely no bearing on what happens on Saturdays. It only matters when all the regular-season and conference-championship games are over, because that's when you decide what bowl games you go to.

"Up until then, it's a TV show."

It's possible that if Stanford beats Oregon, it could jump ahead of Alabama because the Cardinal's schedule will have gained some teeth. Let's just stop right there, because "strength of schedule" is so important. Two of Alabama's first three games were against Kent State and North Texas, and the Crimson Tide still have to face Georgia Southern. LSU had a cakewalk against Northwestern State, for heaven's sake, and plays Western Kentucky on Saturday. So let's not carried away with that brand of nonsense.

The truth is that LSU, should it run the table, has seen enough of the SEC. It's time for the Tigers to face a legitimate, pro-style quarterback, along the lines of Andrew Luck or Oklahoma State's prolific Brandon Weeden. (Sorry, Kellen Moore, but Boise State's schedule is too much of a joke to be taken seriously). So you've got a tough defense? Let's see it against a relentless passing game. More than anything, let's see a contrast of regions, cultures, style and football philosophy.

One other argument in Stanford's favor: Wouldn't it help the collegiate game - even the buffoons in the BCS executive offices - to have a clean, legitimate program in the mix? This season has been an unsavory mess, from the LSU suspensions to the Penn State crisis to the problems at Miami, Ohio State and USC. What's not to like about a great team with a transcendent quarterback and a place where "student-athlete" actually means something?